Of the seniors of the theater department, who have been organizing the performance for over 10 months, Director Bernie Belisle remarked, “These five seniors have labored tirelessly from the embryonic stages of talking about doing ‘The Tempest’ to its final completion.” He said they should all be proud of their work, noting, “I have never let a group of students take full charge of a major production but this group has proven themselves time and again. They are a special group of young people.”

This later Shakespeare play is precisely the right mixture of fantasy, philosophy, spectacle, and humor that has delighted audiences for centuries. “The Tempest” reflects the new style of drama that had gained popularity on the London Stages of the early 17th century.

Cast members include Jusin Jones as Prospero, Jessica Baskin as Ariel, Rachel Liebert as Miranda, Elijah Gray as Ferdinand, Crystal LaPlue as Trinculo, Matthew Smith as Stephano, Caleb Julin as Caliban, Erica Wade as Alonsa, Nicholas Wilbanks as Antonio, Katelin Lowe as Sebastia, Deanna Kobel as Gonzala, Andrew Warren as the boatswain, and Grace Loe as the sprite.

February 2, 2015 — For the first time in recent Bryan baseball history, the Lions hosted an opening weekend series in January. Despite the overcast skies and windy weather, the crowds were out to see Bryan take on the Screaming Eagles of Toccoa Falls. The Lions were victorious, winning 3-1 and 6-3, respectively, in the games, which are recorded in detail on the Bryan College athletics’ site.

With the sweep of the Eagles, the Lions start 3-0 for just the second time in Bryan baseball history. The Lions return to Senter Field next Friday as they take on the visiting Red Storm of the University of Rio Grande. The Friday doubleheader begins at 3 P.M.

January 29, 2015 — The Rhea County Evening with Bryan dinner on January 13 opened up another exciting and hopeful year for the Bryan Scholarship Fund as 110 attendees came, eager to use their time, talent, and treasure to provide a quality education for potential Bryan college students.

From 2013 to 2014 the Bryan Scholarship Fund has grown from $461,007 to $524,079 through a concerted effort to draw attention to the need for scholarships. The Rhea County dinner specifically supports the Rhea County Scholarship. “This is about people,” explained Bryan Scholarship Fund Director David Holcomb, “our community coming together to see the vision of students being educated in a godly environment and trained educationally and spiritually.”

Keynote speak at this dinner was Jerry Levengood, Rhea County’s Director of Schools, who graduated from Bryan in 1976 and whose grandfather A.J. Levengood founded local Cumberland Springs Bible Camp. “We do not need to ask for God’s will for our lives — we need to seek God’s working every day of our lives,” said Levengood. He continued that the only reason many local students can enroll at Bryan, “and that reason is because of the Rhea County Scholarship. It bridges the gap, and it finds a way.”

Generously sponsored by 1st Bank of Tennessee and hosted by the Rhea County region volunteers Paul Ardelean, Rick Farney, Ralph Green, Chris Horton, Lebron Purser, and Nate Snyder, the January 13 dinner was the sixth Evening with Bryan. It marked the beginning of the second full cycle of Evening with Bryan scholarship events, with 11 more to come this year. The annual Rhea County dinner has a much larger scope than simply raising awareness and scholarship funds: it celebrates and strengthens the vital relationship between Bryan College and the Rhea County community.

“We want to be a resource to this community that they’re proud of,” noted Holcomb. “Evening with Bryan is a way for us to share what’s happening, and we want Rhea County to be proud of what they have right here.”

January 23, 2015 – Over the past month Bryan College’s Summers Gymnasium has been undergoing significant aesthetic and practical changes that have added new energy to the space.

These renovations are made possible through the generosity of donors who saw the need for a gym “facelift.” Visitors to the gym will now enjoy improved bleacher seating and 104 additional fold-down stadium seats. In addition, bright LED lighting will illuminate the space, making for better video and photography and a better overall visual experience. New video booths for the home and away teams will provide an ideal location to shoot footage from. A 9×12’ video board will also be installed, in addition to improved branded tile flooring above the bleachers.

David Shumaker, Bryan’s women’s volleyball coach, commented, “This is a great step for our volleyball and basketball programs. The new bleachers and stadium seats will help our parents and students enjoy our home matches even more than before. I think it also shows everyone who sees our gym just how serious we are about offering our athletes and fans a great athletic experience.”

The “great athletic experience” these renovations will offer will allow Summers Gymnasium to become an aesthetically pleasing event venue, not simply a gym.

“It is exciting to be able to make facility improvements that will make it more enjoyable for our students to come out and support our athletic teams,” said Vice President of Student Services and Ministries Tim Hostetler. “We greatly appreciate all of those who donated so generously so we could make this happen this year.”

Athletic Director Taylor Hasty ’06 agreed: “These are exciting times for our athletic department! God has blessed us in so many ways and I am thankful for the kindness of the donors who have made this renovation possible. The hard work of our coaches and student athletes does not go unnoticed, and this much-needed renovation demonstrates how much our alumni, community and other supporters care for Bryan College.”

These renovations are projected to be completed before the last few games of the season to take place.

Senior Kristle Welton, a business major, attended the fair and said, “To me these fairs that showcase the clubs are incredibly important because this is how underclassmen will find a club that they love and get involved here at Bryan college, which help them in their journey in becoming servants of Christ and making a difference in today’s world.”

“I appreciated the opportunity to talk to students in a low-pressure, interactive atmosphere,” said Dr. Adina Scruggs ‘91, a business professor and faculty sponsor of Bryan’s Enactus team “I felt like all the organizations represented were able to better inform students about the leadership opportunities at Bryan College. These leadership opportunities provide tangible learning experiences that often translate to post-college jobs and careers.”

Fair attendance was so high that some booths completely ran out of handouts and had to print more to meet demand.

Vice President of Student Services and Ministries Tim Hostetler is positive about the continuation of student leadership fairs in the future, remarking, “It was our goal to make students aware of leadership opportunities on campus and with so many students expressing an interested we seem to have made great strides in doing that.”

January 21, 2015 – Today marks one week from the beginning of an already-successful spring 2015 semester at Bryan College. Students have returned, classes have begun, and the campus is rejuvenated by the unseasonably balmy weather that has been blessing east Tennessee over the past couple weeks.

Opening the semester was the spring spiritual life conference, titled “This Urgent Mission” and led by Dr. Mike Barnett, the dean of the College of Intercultural Studies at Columbia International University. Dr. Barnett spoke on God’s mission for missions – His “endvision” as seen in Revelation 7:9-10: that ultimately “a great multitude that no one could number, from all tribes and peoples and languages” will be singing praises to the Lord, unified in Him. Emphasizing that the Lord Himself is the Great Missionary, Dr. Barnett charged listeners to remember that the Church exists because of its mission and not vice versa.

Many other missions representatives present during the conference openly discussed missions work with interested students at their display tables and at the Wednesday/Thursday global stories lunches. These individuals included

Eric McEachron, Bryan’s outreach ministries director, said, “Especially at a liberal arts college, where the most students are preparing to go into the marketplace, it’s so important to be reminded that all believers have a role to play in God’s saving mission to the nations. All of us should be making disciples in the power of the Spirit wherever he calls us.”

Furthermore, Interim Vice President of Academics Dr. Kevin Clauson looks forward to a wonderful semester. “As we begin the spring semester of the 2014-15 academic year,” he said, “a number of our students are in the home stretch headed for May graduation. It will be a challenging semester for all students, because of our high academic standards. But for those looking at commencement in May, it will also be exciting (and perhaps a bit sad or frightening for some).”

He confidently concluded, “Bryan’s very competent and caring faculty, I am sure, will make the learning experience this spring semester both enjoyable and productive.”

January 21, 2015 — Results from a national survey indicate that Bryan College students are consistently more satisfied with their college experience than are their counterparts at other four-year private schools. For the 17th year Bryan students have participated in the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory completed by hundreds of thousands of students from private institutions across the country.

“While many schools consider exceeding national averages on some of the scales as a great success, Bryan students have once again rated their satisfaction higher than peers at other private colleges on all 12 scales,” stated Vice President of Finance and Enrollment Rick Taphorn.

Information gathered from this survey helps the college administration categorize institutional strengths and weaknesses by identifying what academic and support services the student body thinks are most important. Studying the survey results helps the college understand how students perceive various programs and services campus-wide.

Individual questions in the survey were ranked on a seven-point scale, with “7” indicating the highest satisfaction. Responses from Bryan students, grouped into the 12 broad categories addressed by the survey, are reported below, along with Bryan’s top 20 ratings.

12 Scales – Student Satisfaction Inventory

Bryan College

4-Yr Privates

Mean Difference

Instructional Effectiveness

5.91

5.55

+0.36

Academic Advising

6.12

5.56

+0.56

Student Centeredness

5.94

5.46

+0.48

Concern for the Individual

6.12

5.40

+0.72

Campus Climate

5.84

5.39

+0.45

Recruitment and Financial Aid

5.92

5.18

+0.74

Safety and Security

5.24

5.07

+0.17

Registration Effectiveness

5.80

5.22

+0.58

Service Excellence

5.84

5.28

+0.56

Campus Support Services

6.01

5.52

+0.49

Campus Life

5.61

5.06

+0.55

Responsiveness to Diverse Populations

6.05

5.32

+0.73

Bryan’s top 20:

Item

Bryan College

The campus staff are caring and helpful.

6.39

Library staff are helpful and approachable.

6.39

On the whole, the campus is well-maintained.

6.37

My academic advisor is approachable.

6.35

The institution is committed to students with disabilities.**

6.35

Faculty care about me as an individual.

6.34

My academic advisor is knowledgeable about requirements in my major.

6.29

Residence hall staff are concerned about me as an individual.

6.27

Nearly all of the faculty are knowledgeable in their field.

6.24

Library resources and services are adequate.

6.23

Admissions staff are knowledgeable.

6.22

My academic advisor is concerned about my success as an individual.

6.21

Counseling staff care about students as individuals.

6.20

I am able to experience intellectual growth here.

6.19

Campus item: My development of a Christian worldview has been enhanced at Bryan.*

6.19

Faculty are usually available after class and during office hours.

6.18

The institution is committed to part-time students.**

6.18

Class change (drop/add) policies are reasonable.

6.17

There is a commitment to academic excellence on this campus.

6.16

The campus is safe and secure for all students.

6.15

*Noel-Levitz allows school-specific items to be added to the basic survey.

January 20, 2015 – Yesterday and today students swarmed the booth set up just outside the dining hall, where alumna Callie Dawkins ’13 was recruiting for Lake Forest Ranch in Macon, Miss.

Callie has been working as a full-time intern for Lake Forest Ranch since this past summer, when she was brought on as administrative assistant to the executive director. She called working at the camp “a once-in-a-lifetime thing” and noted that “it’s amazing and beautiful how the Lord orchestrated” her working there. Having worked there as a counselor in 2011, Callie was already familiar with the camp, and she found herself in need of a place to go between her May 2013 graduation and her anticipation of beginning graduate school in the fall.

“The Lord just put Lake Forest Ranch on my heart,” Callie said, so she called Camp Director Rich Malone and asked about working as his office assistant. “It was just beautiful. Jesus paved the way, and it’s been really cool to see that.”

The alumna now works in the camp office, joyfully combining administrative work and ministry. With businesses and nonprofits increasingly switching to digital formats, a large part of Callie’s task has been to make the camp’s forms, paperwork, and databases accessible online. She has also helped start a girls’ Bible study there, by which she is able to show Christ’s love for those around her through consistent fellowship, life investment, and mentoring.

Now gearing up for summer, Lake Forest Ranch is recruiting summer staff. Just over the past two days more than 19 students have demonstrated written interest, with many more coming by to talk about camp ministry opportunities. The Lake Forest Ranch staff on campus conducted 12 separate interviews with students.

Callie highly recommends her fellow Bryan College alumni to return to their alma mater and talk to current students about the career and ministry opportunities they have been privileged to take part in. It is unspeakably important, she noted, that current students hear of God’s continuing faithfulness in the times after graduation, and their fellow Bryan Lions have the chance to do just that.

Anyone interested in setting up an informational booth at Bryan College are encouraged to contact the career services department for more information.

In the past five years the MACS program has gone through two cycles (starting in 2010 and in 2012) graduating 17 students. Since then, the program has undergone considerable revamping under the leadership and vision of William Harle, dean of adult and graduate studies, and Dr. Matthew Johnson, director of graduate education.

The program’s reintroduction, according to MACS Director Dr. Kenneth Turner, has been revitalized and improved, experiencing a dramatic shift in terms of marketing strategy, class interactivity, flexibility, and reach. Dr. Turner said, “We are very sensitive to working a program that will fit as many people as possible in terms of their goals,” adding that the MACS will help equip people to go into many different fields with an in-depth background in Christian studies.

“The point is,” continued Dr. Turner, “to be flexible, to be creative, and to match the needs and desires of people with a program that is versatile enough that they can gain a degree to help them do what they want to do.”

The improved MACS will launch March 31, 2015. As a 36-hour program, it will feature 12 three-hour courses, which at least initially will be offered two at a time. Six of these will count as core classes, after which students will take courses more specifically pertinent to their career field. Typically a student will take two courses every 12 weeks, although they may choose to only take one per term. The courses will involve reading, writing, posting in online discussion forums, viewing mini-lecture presentations with pre-recorded audio from the professors, and ongoing week-to-week conversations both between classmates and between students and their professors, who are deeply invested in mentoring and coming alongside them.

“The online approach enables us to reach people literally around the world who are in ministry now or want to get into ministry,” commented Dr. Turner. “We’re trying to shape a program that will help people go into all kinds of areas, so we’re sensitive to that on every level.”

Dr. C. Jud Davis, professor of Greek and Christian studies and philosophy division chair, gave an encouraging and challenging address drawn from the pages of scripture to the approximately 1000 in attendance in both Rudd Auditorium and the overflow room in the Latimer Student Center. The musical portion of the ceremony, including a singing of “Amazing Grace” and additional special music, delighted onlookers, and Alumni Director Paulakay Hall’s welcoming of the new alumni into the Bryan College Alumni Association garnered applause and laughter.

The Honoris Causa student awards were presented before the long-awaited conferral of degrees to the new graduates. Joanna Hill ‘14, a history and English double-major from Dayton, Tenn., earned the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award. Benedikt Müller ‘14, a politics and government major from Eichstaett, Germany, won the Highest Scholastic Record Award with a 3.978 GPA.

The 26 students from the School of Arts and Sciences to earn their undergraduate degrees were divided evenly between Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts recipients. Of the 116 AGS students, 27 earned their M.B.A.

“It is a tremendous honor for Bryan college to be part of the lives of each and every one of these graduates,” remarked Interim Vice President of Academics Dr. Kevin Clauson. “We are thankful for all the family members, faculty, and staff who have made all of this possible.”